Sooooo… aw jeez. I’ve been hiding out all day in a state of shock and bewilderment because The Attic Tragedy won a fricking Shirley Jackson Award!

I watched the ceremony with my youngest, who sat there with fingers crossed and insisted I do the same – though I told him I had no hope of winning. When the announcement came, I literally shrieked – and kept shrieking. (My eldest was on a school Zoom call in the other room. His teacher asked him politely to mute himself because of the “background noise.”)

Congrats to all the winners, with special nods to Kathe Koja (meerkat-shaped fist bump coming your way), Lee Murray and Gene Flynn (the fantastic flight of the Cranes continues!). And of course, epic, bottomless thank yous to Kaaron Warren and to the unstoppable Meerkat Press!